“We’re not getting the outcomes we should expect from the billions and billions of dollars we invest in aid, so I want to see better outcomes.

“We want to be economic partners, we want to move away from the old stereotype of aid donor/aid recipient, and work in partnership with countries, particularly in the Pacific.”

The changes come on the back of the Coalition slashing overall foreign aid spending by $7.6 billion over five years.

Greens MP Adam Bandt said his party is willing to look at what is announced, but he criticised the decision to wind back funding.

“It’s difficult to see how we’re going to get better aid outcomes by cutting the aid budget,” he told reporters at Parliament House this morning.

“Yes we can have a debate about how it ought to be targeted, but if you’re cutting the budget and then redirecting it then that’s unlikely to get good outcomes.”

Labor claims today’s announcement is merely a “distraction” from the Abbott government’s budget.

“Let’s be clear about it, Julie Bishop’s announcements today are a distraction form the fact that they don’t want to talk about their Budget, they don’t want to talk about Paid Parental Leave, they don’t want to talk about their own internal divisions,” MP Stephen Jones said.

“Of course, when we’re giving aid overseas, it should be spent for the purposes in which it was directed but let’s not be distracted by these sorts of red herrings.”

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